Faith
is not optimism!I once heard a man say, “Boy brother, you just gotta believe!”Though he was sincere, he was speaking of optimism, not faith.The dictionary defines “optimism” as: “The optimistic
feeling that all is going to turn out well.”This is definitely NOT faith.

I can say all day long that “I believe” a chair will hold me up,
if I stand on it, but that’s NOT faith—that’s optimism.Faith would be for me to go over and stand up on the
chair. Do you see the difference?To stand upon the chair would require my trust, my faith, that it will
hold me up.One can say he
believes in Jesus all he wants to but that is NOT faith unless he actually
places his trust upon Christ.Salvation is NOT merely a belief, it is believing on Jesus
Christ.Believing requires a
personal decision on your part to trust Christ.

Salvation is a relationship; a relationship where you become
a child of the heavenly Father.Either
you are a child of God or else you are a child of the Devil.Believing that Jesus is real is NOT enough.Even the demons believe that Jesus exists... “...the
DEVILS ALSO BELIEVE,
and tremble” (James 2:19).You must not
only acknowledge that Jesus is the Savior—you must personally BELIEVE on Him to forgive your sins.You
must decide for yourself to rely 100% upon Christ to forgive your sins
and save you.Only Jesus died on the cross for you.Only Jesus shed
His blood for you.Only
Jesus has the nail-scarred hands and feet.

Have you ever made a deliberate, conscious decision (acknowledging
before God that you are a guilty sinner) to rely upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins?Have
you ever believed on Jesus as the Christ to save you?You
should remember a time in your life when you did so.If not, there’s no time like the present.Maybe you remember praying many times, but don’t know which time you
were saved.That’s easy—The
first time!God only requires a
childlike faith for salvation.If
you had enough faith to “call upon the name of the Lord,” then that’s all the faith required for salvation... “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL
BE SAVED” (Romans 10:13). That
is a promise from God.
Salvation is of the heart my friend, it is NOT optimism.There are millions of people who are optimistic they will
make it to Heaven one day, but they won’t.This is the
woeful deception of religion and good works.The Bible is clear, “The
just shall live by FAITH” (Romans 1:17).You
must put your faith in Christ!

I Couldn't Find Peace About My Salvation

When I first became a Christian, I doubted my salvation for several
years.I simply didn’t understand
the Bible enough to KNOW whether or not I was saved.I had dozens of questions going through my mind.Did I have enough faith?Did
I really “believe” on Christ?If
I did believe, then why am I unsure about my salvation?What if I’m not saved?Is God upset with me because I keep asking Him to save me?Does it show a lack of faith because I keep asking God to save me?Why can’t I find peace on the matter?

Over the years which followed, I purposed in my heart to learn the Bible.I wanted to know everything about salvation and faith there was to know.Anytime I heard a sermon about faith or believing, I listened
attentively at the edge of my seat.I read every Gospel
tract I could get my hands on, each several times through.Time and time again I would admit to God I was a sinner and ask Him to
save me. I was scared. I remember
reminding God in
prayer that I had a right as His child to KNOW if I was saved.I told God that I would get saved in a heartbeat if I wasn’t saved.The big problem was that I didn’t KNOW 100% sure whether I was
saved or lost. I was confused and uncertain
about my salvation.

I Finally Received the Assurance of My
Salvation

The doubts
continued for several years.The Holy
Spirit showed me many wonderful truths and finally, in time, I grasped the
assurance of my salvation.I
had been saved all along but lacked the Bible knowledge to be at perfect peace
about it.I had been
afraid of something which I didn’t understand.I had been looking to a prayer and a past experience instead of looking
to what was in my heart in the present. I
was focusing on myself, rather than focusing upon the righteousness of Jesus
Christ.

I had learned that salvation is of the heart, not the mouth
(Romans 10:9, "...and shalt believe in thine heart..."). It wasn’t my prayer,
nor even my faith that saved me—it was HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33), in
response to my faith.After several years of searching and wondering, I finally had the assurance of my
salvation. I realized that Salvation is of
the Lord. My part is only to believe, and God does the rest. Salvation is
receiving, not giving. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Jesus redeeming
blood sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12; 1st Peter 1:18-19).

Next to my
salvation, my assurance is the greatest gift which God has ever given to me.I had learned that faith is NOT optimism.It
is ok to doubt, just so as long as I “believe on Jesus Christ.”No amount of doubt can keep a soul out of
Heaven, if that soul believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ... “Sirs, what must I
do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved...”
(Romans
16:31).